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Get to know: Pulp Riot

We caught up with David and Alexis Thurston, from LA Salon Butterfly Loft and the founders of Pulp Riot to get an insight into how the brand started and their future plans!

How did Pulp Riot come about, how did it all start?

Alexis: We were gaining notoriety from our salon Butterfly Loft and we were becoming very well known for creative colours and then we started an education program called Butterfly Circus, going around the country educating and inspiring artists around the world. And then we decided that we weren't satisfied with what was available and we felt like we could do it better. And so we set out to create the Pulp Riot semi-permanent colours

What was your inspiration for creating Pulp Riot?

David: So for years people have been creating products for stylists who have never stood a day behind the chair. And we thought that the magic would happen if we created something where there is zero degrees of separation between those creative products and those who use the products every day. So our products are created inside a hair salon by actual hairstylists. The range has this authenticity that we're connecting with the whole beauty community. You feel closer to our products because of that.

Tell us about the colours and what's on offer in the range.

Alexis: So we started with our 16 semi-permanent colours and then we expanded to our Neon Electric colours. They're all inter-mixable and our neon electric colours actually glow in UV lighting. So it doesn't mean they glow in the dark but if you were to go to a club or somewhere that has black lighting then your hair would glow which is a really cool thing.

David: Our products last longer, they're easier to apply and they fade better and since releasing these products we've launched blonding products, permanent colours, toners; products designed to hit a much broader market.

Tell us about the packaging design. What was the idea behind it?

David: So the packaging is pretty revolutionary with Pulp Riot. It features street art on the packaging. Artists take many different forms and different shapes in street art. Artists think of the brick wall as their canvas and they paint it. Similarly tattoo artist think of skin as their canvas and they paint that, hairdressers are the same. They're artists and hair is their canvas and Pulp Riot, is their paint.

Alexis: It was innovative for us to think that if you have a green hair colour, the packaging should be green. And we wanted it to look like street art. We wanted it to have a craftsmanship and something really cool to look at and not hide away in your colour cabinetry but have it out on display for everybody to see.

David: I think there is a certain level of taste and craftsmanship to the products and the way they look. I think it's important when you purchase a product that you feel something that you feel good about yourself and through our packaging we celebrate the different art forms.

What are your signature go to looks when creating.

Alexis: I think a few signature go to looks are shadow rooting and colour melting. That's something that you can do with creative colour. And it's also something you can translate into permanent or demi permanent colour. So really it's using the same techniques but using a different medium. So with our semi-permanent you can create a colour meld with you know pink into yellow or you can also create that with our permanent colour or even with our toners. And it's really just kind of using different products and using the same techniques.

David: For me what I love is hair colour is totally seasonal. So in the spring the go to products are the pastels and the muted neon colours, and the fall and you get these coppers coming out and of course in the summer everyone's going blonde.

What's your advice for someone trying out semi-permanent colour for the first time?

David: My advice for anybody trying semi-permanent colour for the first time is to know the canvas that you're putting it on and that's what separates good artists from great artists. First identify what canvas you’re working with and then determine whether you need to lighten the hair or what you need to do to get the look you're going for. 

Are there any colour trends coming up that you're really excited about?

Alexis: I love seeing rainbow looks or even soft pastel rainbow lights. It's a really creative way to get little pops of colour and experiment with different colours without doing your whole head. 

David: I think what's really exciting right now is people are creating wearable looks with creative colour and when I say wearable, I mean something that’s not so shocking that you can wear every day to work. One way we're seeing this is artists taking the neon colours and they're diluting them with clear to create a pastel look but with a punch and I think that's a pretty exciting movement.

Why did you choose to partner with Capital Hair and Beauty?

David: We decided to partner with Capital Hair and Beauty because they're innovators, because they're forward thinking, and because they wanted something more than a business transaction. And that's how we like to operate. We form relationships and sitting down with them for just a short period of time and hearing their vision and their beliefs about the hair industry truly is a no brainer that that's a company we wanted to partner with.

What's the plans for expansion in the U.K.?

In the UK we’re starting with our semi-permanent colours and our toners and then going full range with our permanent colour line which we'll be launching later this fall.

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